Today is Veteran’s Day so I just wanted to start by writing that all the fun I have on here is because of brave men and women who take on serious sacrifices. Without their commitment to keeping us safe, none of the sports we watch or this nonsense written would be possible. To all the veterans out there, I wish you and your family a happy, safe, and peaceful Veterans Day.
Sweater Weather | College Football Week 11 | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Not only is it Veteran’s Day but it’s also 11/11 so make a wish. It’s been on and off kinda cold around these parts for a while now, but I think we’re officially in Sweater Weather Season so I’m going with Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood on this Saturday of Sports.
Once Week to Week Notes declares it’s Sweater Weather Season there is no turning back, so bundle up folks winter is on the way. Glad we got that sorted.
Great tune, let’s talk ball…
Michigan and Penn State first met on the football field in 1993 when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten. Michigan holds a 16-10 head-to-head advantage and has won the last two games. Michigan is undefeated and ranked #3 in the country, while Penn State will host them as #10 with 1 loss.
Week to Week Notes has been quiet on this Michigan scandal because we like to see all the facts before passing judgment on to @YouTheReader. News broke yesterday that Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh will be suspended from coaching on the sideline for the remainder of the Big Ten regular season. They made up a dumbass rule that he can coach the team during the week at practices but he can’t be present at games. Many Michigan Men alum, such as David Portnoy are bickering at this decision. A pissed-off Portnoy makes for some great content, but not going to lie, fair is fair, honestly, he’s right, it’s bull shit. They’re being accused of stealing signs that any fan could record on their own and the conference has even admitted that they have no proof that Harbaugh was in the know of what was going on. The fact that the Big Ten would fold like this to one of their most prestigious programs as they are ranked #3 in the country is ridiculous. The current Michigan players will be taking the field tomorrow like a pack of Wolverines as they have coach Harbaugh’s back, with many of them Tweeting out “Bet” meaning alright, bet we’re about to kick some ass. Michigan’s JJ McCarthy’s Tweet of “Bet” got a response from Tom Brady, a Michigan alum, who said “Bet” back.
Penn State’s QB Drew Allar padded some against the likes of Indiana and Maryland, but I still remember how he went 18 for 42 for only 191 yards and 1 TD in Columbus just a few weeks ago. Allar is only a sophomore and this is his first year as the starter for PSU so growing pains against the likes of Ohio State are expected. This will be another test for the QB who currently has a 20 to 1 TD-to-INT ratio. The Nittany Lions will be getting back their talented pass rusher Chop Robinson. Michigan thus far this season has steamrolled past its competition with its closing game being a 24-point margin of victory over Rutgers. It’ll be very entertaining to see how they respond to this suspension and interesting to see how much Harbaugh’s absence on the sideline will affect them.
Prediction: 28-13 Michigan (-4 Michigan & Under 45)
The Utah Utes and Washington Huskies have only met 15 times with their 1st game taking place back in 1931. Washington holds a 13-2 advantage in this new Pac-12 matchup. Utah is 7-2 and ranked #18 in the country while the Washington Huskies are an undefeated 9-0 ranked #5.
In his last 5 games for the Utes, junior defensive end Jonah Elliss has had up an absurd 10 sacks. Elliss has come out of relative obscurity, which probably isn’t new since he’s from Moscow, Idaho, and who knew that was even a town in America. Utah’s defense also includes a safety tandem of Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki, who can do it all. Outside of defense, Bishop can return kicks, while Vaki has been one of the team’s best offensive playmakers of late, averaging 8.1 yards per carry and 24 yards per catch for a total of 4 TDs. After a drubbing against Oregon where they only scored 6 points, they just put up 55 over Arizona State, which may have more to do with ASU’s ineptitude but is still Noteworthy. Despite likely being out of the College Football Playoff, the Utes will still be playing hard because they still have a shot at a Pac-12 Championship with a win and they are trying to win 3 Pac-12 Championships in a row.
For much of this season, the Huskies have been led by their Heisman-hopeful QB Michael Penix. The Southpaw senior leads the nation in passing yards with 3,201 thus far. Last week Penix threw for a season-low 256 yards in large part because Washington’s ground game was getting it done against the Trojans. RB Dillon Johnson broke out for 256 rushing yards and 4 TDs, after never rushing for more than 100 yards in any of his games the past 4 seasons. It’ll be a lot tougher for Washington to run the ball like that again this week going up against Utah’s 6th in the nation ranked rush defense that only allows 81.2 yards on the ground per game. Utah has a tough defense, but I think Penix bounce back and I have trouble seeing the Utes keeping up with the pace of the Huskies’ explosive offense.
Prediction: 27-17 Washington (-8 Washington & Under 50)
Tennessee and Missouri have only recently started playing each other since ‘12 when Missouri joined the SEC. The Volunteers hold a slight edge in the head-to-head matchup as they have won 6 of the 11 games. The Orange are ranked #14 in the country while the Tigers are #16. Missouri has not beaten Tennessee since ‘18.
The Tennessee Volunteers run game is the team’s bread and butter. They are currently ranked #3 in the country in rushing with 227.8 yards per game. Their RB Jaylen Wright in the past 2 weeks has rushed the ball a total of 19 times for 233 yards. 2 of those runs went for for 134 yards (52 and 82-yard TDs), so he can break them one at any time on the field. Tennessee also has other RBs in their stable with Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson each averaging over a healthy 5 yards per carry. On defense, sophomore edge rusher James Pearce Jr. leads the team in sacks with 7.
The Missouri Tigers are more of a 21st-century pass-first offense. Their QB Brady Cook has a top target in WR Luther Burden III, who will be a top WR in the ‘25 NFL Draft class. Cook is also a very smart thrower of the football as earlier this year he broke the SEC record for throws in a career without throwing an interception. Of late, however, Cook has thrown the ball to his opponents at a much higher rate with 5 INTs in his last 4 games. On defense, pass rusher Darius Robinson has had 4 sacks in his last 3 games and has picked up at least half a sack in 5 straight. Tennessee defensively is great against the run and so-so as a pass defense. This is a game where we’ll be able to tell who will win fairly early. If Missouri can hold their own against the Volunteer running game, they should have this in the bag. If Tennesee is able to dominate possession and the ground game, well it’ll be the Vols day. I’ll go with the Mizzou.
Prediction: 31-26 Missouri (+1.5 Missouri & Under 58.5)
These two SEC schools have been going at it on and off again since 1940 with the Bulldogs owning the series 32-12-1. The last time these schools met in ‘16, Ole Miss blew out Georgia 45-14. Ole Miss only has 1 loss this season to Alabama and is ranked #10, while the Bulldogs haven’t lost in 26 straight games and are ranked #1. Athens, Georgia will be the site of College Gameday this fall Saturday thanks to this high-profile matchup.
Besides Michigan’s scandal, the talk off the field has been dominated by Ole Miss. A story broke this week when a former Ole Miss player, DeSanto Rollins, filed a $40 million lawsuit against the program and Lane Kiffin after he was dismissed by the team. Rollins was absent from the team for 2 weeks and when he showed up back at the facility he said he needed a break for his mental health. Head coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t buying it, as Rollins recorded Kiffin’s response as he was kicking him off the team (pictured above). I’ll start by saying that mental health is a very serious subject that nobody really seems to have the answer to. According to Rollins, he was in a depressive state, so I feel for anybody going through it and Lane Kiffin’s words were certainly a bit harsh. That said, Rollins recorded and then leaked the conversation with the clear intention to sway public opinion. Had Rollins told the team he needed a break as he sought help, Kiffin would one million percent be in the wrong for saying something like that, but given what we know, this feels like an excuse where Rollins is trying to play the victim. Most jobs, and especially schools, are very understanding of mental health today, however, for Rollins to go 2 weeks without any warning or communication after the team had constantly attempted to reach out to him, is awful judgment by him and his support system. Unless there is some groundbreaking news on this, for this guy to make $10 million off compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages alleging racial discrimination on a leaked audio conversation is ludicrous. Ole Miss should pay for his mental health services and not a dime more. My bad if I sound like some old man telling a kid to get off his lawn here, I’m by no means a mental health expert or involved in the situation first hand but this story frankly sounds like BS and an attempt to take advantage of an actual crisis. Doesn’t sit right.
Georgia will be getting back their best player in TE Brock Bowers as he’ll play in his final home game in front of the Bulldog fans. Bowers will be a Top 10 pick in this upcoming NFL Draft. Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart throws darts, but Georgia’s defense just last week picked off Brady Cook twice. Georgia’s defense this season has allowed 20+ points 5 times this year but has not given up more than 21. I’ll take the Bulldogs and the under.
Prediction: 34-21 Georgia (-10 Georgia & Under 58)
USC and Oregon first played each other back in 1915 when the Ducks smoked the Trojans 34-0. USC got revenge in 1920 when head coach Elmer C. “Gus” Henderson beat Charles A. “Shy” Huntington 21-0. I guess those were the days of formal first names, middle initials, “nicknames”, and last names. Anyway, USC holds the series advantage here 39-22. The Trojans have lost 3 out of their last 4 games and are unranked. The Oregon Ducks have won 3 straight after losing to Washington and are ranked #8.
USC just fired their defensive coordinator after they allowed 52 points against Washington. The Trojans have been brutal on defense all season, giving up 34.5 points per game so switching things up is probably the right move even if it’s too late to change the course of their season. For a team that had College Football Playoff aspirations, USC has been a major disappointment this season. QB Caleb Williams, the ‘22 Heisman Trophy Winner, has failed to beat good opponents but I’d make the case that his only real bad game was against Notre Dame. It is clear that the Trojans put almost too much on Williams’ plate for them to overcome as real contenders. Was Caleb Williams jumping into the stands to cry with his mother genuine or was it attention seeking? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that he has a ton of talent as a passer. A bigger concern for me in his game is that he’ll develop bad habits from trying to play hero ball all the time this season, but who knows, we won’t know what he’ll look like in the NFL until he gets there.
Last week, Oregon’s QB Bo Nix found WR Tez Johnson 12 times for 180 yards and 2 scores. Nix has an even better relationship on the field with WR Troy Franklin, who is currently 8th in receiving yards this season with 946. This pair of WRs, along with Nix’s 5 years of experience in college football has shaped him into a potential Heisman candidate. His 25 passing TDs to 2 INTs is the best ratio in the sport. What makes Oregon’s O that much more effective is the fact that they also have a pair of RBs in Bucky Irving and Jordan James who can take over games as they both average 7 yards per carry. Defensively, the Ducks are middle of the road in stopping the pass and above average against the run. For USC to win this game outright would be a stretch, but I think Caleb Williams can keep it within 2 scores so I’ll take USC if you’re giving them 15.5 points.
Prediction: 38-35 Oregon (+15.5 USC & Under 76)
YouTube Rabbithole
Bronx Beat: Brian Williams - SNL
(Sweater Weather reference at 0:50 mark. Funny skit.)